Days of Future Past
by Blu Wolf 23
Summary: Incited by a terrible series of events, a vicious civil war that has torn a rift between the students of Beacon and the Kingdoms of Remnant is coming to an end. The warring factions, united out of desperation and necessity, now fight to save Remnant from an adversary that has pushed them to the brink of annihilation. Now the hope for a better future rests with one girl.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_All of this… everything that has happened… it all started during the Vytal Festival, when a makeshift bomb was detonated resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. Including General Ironwood, this bomb was built by the people I once called my brothers: The White Fang. _

_The events that followed were just as horrifying. _

_In response to the attack, the Schnee Dust Company pressed their newest product into service. The Giant Armors were programmed to relentlessly pursue and destroy the White Fang's members. Pulling criminal records from every source possible, the Giant's began to target Faunus and humans who dared to even associate with those that called themselves the White Fang._

_The resulting slaughter drove a rift between the people of Remnant. Some believed it was for the greater good, The White Fang was a terrorist cell that had to be defeated. Anyone that associated themselves with them could be a potential threat and would be dealt with as such. This was the thought process of people like Cardin Winchester, Weiss Schnee and many others. The fact that the White Fang had to be stopped was indisputable, but some of us asked what the cost of victory would be. In the end, would the measures we had taken to stop our foes make us a despicable as they were? Could we justify destroying a building, a car, another living being based on what they might be doing?_

_People like Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc and myself asked this of the people we once called our friends. Others joined our cause, calling for a stop to the violence. Surely there was a better way to stop the White Fang without putting innocents in harm's way. _

_Soon the kingdom of Atlas was in a fury, vilifying us for 'defending' the White Fang. In the shadows Cinder Fall, who had uploaded a virus into Beacon's computer network on the night of our first dance, released a series of fake documents that led the people of Atlas to believe we were harboring White Fang insurgents. My name was mentioned several times. The next day, we were faced with an ultimatum._

_Surrender the 'insurgents' to Atlas' military police or face the very real possibility of war._

_We chose to go to war._

_The fighting went on for a year with the kingdoms being forced to take sides. The battles we fought destroyed great cities and ended the lives of thousands. At the twilight of this conflict, the world came together and decided enough was enough. We reluctantly united against a common enemy, the machines who slaughtered countless innocents as we fought a war of ideology._

_Our newest enemy was more powerful then we could have possibly imagined. Unforgiving, unyielding, and unstoppable. Nearly ten years have passed since that fateful day, and now the people of Remnant finds themselves peering into the abyss. Now, we come together for one last desperate attempt at saving ourselves from extinction._

_If anyone ever hears this, please…this…all of this…don't let it happen again._

_Don't make the same mistakes we did._

A.N- So I hope you are intrigued by this introduction, In case you didn't know Days of Future Past is the name of an X-Men storyline with a similar premise, but I thought it would be cool to RWBY-fy the story and see what I can do to make this thing different from the movie/comic plot. Cover art props to tumblr user xuunies. If the artist doesn't want their art as my cover or realizes I have gave props to the wrong person please let me know. Any who, thanks for reading and until next time…

Wolf out!


	2. Ashes

Chapter 1

Ashes

Beacon Academy was a charred skeleton of what it once was, it once stood tall and proud over the kingdom it dutifully protected. Now, it hangs its head in despair as the world around it crumbles. Its towers and turrets on the verge of collapse, hunched over like a wounded man standing in the aftermath of a great battle.

Despite the devastation, life had found a way into the innards of the structure. For the first time in years, Hunters and Huntress ran through the halls. Although, they were not the great warriors they once were.

They were the prey.

…

"Go! Warn the others, I'll slow it down!"

"Cardin, you-"

"Velvet! Run, now!"

The Faunus girl nodded and took off down the hall as her companion turned around and pulled out his mace.

His adversary rounded the corner, spear in hand.

The Giant Armor's had become more complex in design, their plating looking less traditional then the Mark I. The Mark X had geometric looking armor plating, comprised of hexagonal and diamond like shapes and sharp edges. Their angled armor gave them an advantage in urban combat, easily able to deflect explosive and armor piercing ordnance.

Cardin's own appearance had changed as well, when compared to the clean shaven young man he was before the war. His hair was thick and messy and his short beard was beginning to thicken, his armor showed signs of wear and tear. Bullet holes, patch repair jobs, scorch marks and terrible gashes. It was a wonder it was still holding together.

The machine charged him, throwing its spear at the Hunter at speeds that would have challenged Ruby's semblance. Cardin rolled to the side, barley avoiding the projectile and jumping up to run along the wall before pushing off and bringing his mace up over his head.

Before he could brain the Giant, it turned and snatched him out of the air before throwing him to the ground. Cardin cried out as he slammed into the pavement, the Giant reached for its spear as the Hunter got his feet with a great deal of trouble. He yelled out and hit the machine's knee with as much force as he could. The machine was staggered by the attack but quickly whipped around and punched Cardin in the chest, sending him flying through a nearby wall.

…

Velvet ran into a classroom, her exasperated look getting the group moving before she even said anything.

"We're out of time, we've got to go!" She told them.

"Velvet, Sun, take the power cell and get to the Airship. We'll keep the Giant's off your back." Goodwitch instructed, brushing a few strands of grey hair out of her face.

"Roman, please go help Cardin." Velvet pleaded.

He tipped his shredded hat to her and ran off.

"Let's go!" Sun told the girl.

She nodded and the two took off running.

…

Cardin rolled back as the Giant tried to stomp him into dust with its foot.

He sprang to his feet and scowled at his opponent who twirled its spear in a menacing fashion.

It was in this moment that the Hunter laughed at himself, he was going to sound like Arc.

"This is for messing with my team." He snarled.

Just then a projectile flew overhead, hitting the Giant in the gut and causing it to double over.

Cardin took the opportunity to strike as the machine brought its head down low, he jumped up and smashed the Giant's head into an oily pancake.

The Machine twitched sporadically before going still.

Cardin grinned, turning around to thank Torchwick as he brought his mace up to rest on his shoulder when a Giant Armor smashed through the wall behind him. Roman shouted a warning and raised his weapon as Cardin whipped around only to be kicked across the room, as he flew through the air, the machine scooped up the spear of its fallen comrade and hurled it at the Hunter.

As he hit the wall, the spear flew into his chest and pinned him there. Pained gurgles marked his violent demise as Torchwick cried out and unleashed a volley on the newly arrived Giant.

…

Mercury ducked under a swipe from a Giant's sword, as he ducked under the attack he kicked upwards with as much force as he could muster. The kick knocked the weapon out of the machines hands and sent it tumbling through the air.

The warrior jumped up after it, roundhouse kicking the weapon back down towards the earth where it cut a Giant that was chasing Velvet and Sun clean in two. The machine contorted as it tried to get back up and resume the chase, but when it realized it had no legs, it began crawling after the duo.

Sun whipped around as he ran and shot the Giant several times in head, with the final shot dispatching it.

"Sun, get down!"

The Hunter hit the deck as a stalagmite of purple crystals shot over his head and impaled another Armor in the chest. The machine groaned and tried to yank the makeshift projectile out of its chest as Mercury leaped up from behind and kicked the Giant in the back of the head, forcing it to fall forward onto its chest and onto the stalagmite which was protruding out of its back.

Sun and Velvet ran down Beacon's ruined stone walkway that led from the front of the school to the Airship platform. The courtyard surrounding them was barren of any tress, and was instead populated by patches of scorched earth, rubble and craters.

"Mercury stay close to them!" Glenda shouted, rolling away from a battle axe strike that shook the ground around her.

"On it!" He replied running after the two.

As he ran, the Giant he had knocked down earlier was getting back up. It pulled the crystal spear out of its chest with one swift yank before breaking it in half. After leading its target for a brief second, the upper half was thrown, it sailed across the courtyard and struck Mercury in the leg.

He screamed in agony as he was brought to a halt, his chin slammed into the dirt with a thud, causing his false eye to pop out. He turned to see the crystal spear protruding from his injured limb and brought his free leg up to shatter it with one well-placed kick when then the other half of the stalagmite pinned his other leg to the earth.

Velvet heard his screams and turned around with a horrified look on her face.

"No…"

The Giant who had trapped him leaped across the courtyard, crushing the young man with its metal fists on landing.

"NO!" Velvet screamed, tears forming in her eyes as Sun tried to get her moving again.

…

Roman snarled as he scrambled up the back of a Giant while it tried to shake him off. When he reached the top of the machine's head, he readied his weapon only for a metallic hand to yank him back by the neck. He turned to see the Giant that had seized him and spat at it.

The machine looked to its comrade who stabbed him from behind with its sword, Torchwick looked down at the blade as it popped from his chest before reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small metallic cylinder.

"See you in hell." He croaked before hitting a button at the top of the device.

…

A thunderous blast from the school's north eastern wing drew everyone's attention to the plume of smoke and fire that was rising up into the darkening sky.

Glenda, however, remained as focused as ever. It was two against one and she was all that stood against the Giants. If she could hold out for just a bit longer…

She willed an energy shield to form on her right, blocking a swing from a war hammer while she encased her arm in ice and raised it to block a fiery beam of energy from the chest of another Giant. The defense did its job, with the ice counteracting the beam and her aura shielding her from the heat.

She turned to see a spear sailing towards her exposed back and willed it to crumple into a ball of metal which landed with a thud before rolling to a stop by her feet. The Giant who had thrown the spear was charging, mace raised to strike. The huntress spun around, sweeping her leg across the ground while keeping her defenses up.

The earth quaked and buckled, the shockwave moving out to the charging Giant who was tripped up by the massive tremors, as it fell forward, Glenda stomped her foot and a pillar of earth shot up from the ground, spearing the machine through the head.

Yet her foes continue to hammer her defenses, each blow weakening her.

With each axe strike, a pain shot through her body. The beam that was bombarding her arm was slowly sucking the energy out of her. She took a shaky breath, her knees were shaking.

It was then that she decided that if she was going to die, she would die fighting.

She dropped her defenses and went on the offensive.

…

Sun and Velvet made it to the airship and began booting up the flight systems.

"I have to help Goodwitch." The Hunter told his companion.

"No, no, you can't. " She began.

"If I don't there's no way we'll make it out of here. They'll shoot us down. You go as soon as the engines come online, ok!? Get out of here and get that energy cell to Blake."

Velvet was trembling, but she nodded.

Without another word, Sun went to join the fray.

…

Glenda hit one of the Giants in the shoulder with an energy blast before turning and blocking a sword strike from the second machine by quickly raising an energy field. As the weapon struck, she felt the stinging pain shoot through her body, numbing her limbs.

She started to slip up, shooting a bolt of fire at one of her opponents only to miss by what seemed like a mile. She then clumsily rolled to dodge the counter attack, a stomp that would have flattened her. The shockwaves from the attack made the ground underneath her roll, causing her to fall onto her back. A Giant leveled its sword at her chest and thrust forward only for her to bring up an energy shield at the last possible second. Sparks flew from the shield as the Giant tried to push right through it. Goodwitch noticed her vision was tunneling.

Then her shield faltered, giving the Giant an opening. The machine thrust its sword forward again, this time driving it through the women's chest. She kicked at the air and grabbed at the weapon but her strength quickly left her. With a heavy sigh, she expired.

"YARGHHHHHH!"

Sun pole-vaulted over her lifeless body and shot the Giant that had killed her multiple times in the face, but the attack did little to damage the machine, which deployed its auto cannon and began firing at the Faunus when he landed.

Sun twirled his bo-staff around allowing him to deflect incoming fire back at the Giant, causing it to damage itself. Despite this, the machine continued to attack, tearing itself to ribbons. Before it fell over, defeated, it swung weakly at the Hunter, who easily sidestepped the Giant's last attack.

Behind him, the airship slowly began to ascend. The roar of its engine's the only other sound that filled the air besides the howling of the winter wind. The young man then turned to face the group of Giant's advancing on him.

He readied his staff and made two copies of himself.

Then, they all charged the small army of killing machines, who opened fired with their auto cannons in an effort to kill their attacker before he even got close.

The group charged the leader of the pack head on, who was the only one without a weapon.

With a yell, all three Suns jumped up in an attack that was supposed to bash the machine's head in, but instead the Giant opened up its chest plate and fired its chest beam, twisting its torso to ensure all three got a taste of its fiery beam.

Two of the Sun's dissolved instantaneously, while one cried out in pain and curled up as he fell to the floor at the machine's feet.

The Giant regarded the injured warrior with little contempt, taking a step back before incinerating him with a quick high powered blast.

…

Blake sat at a desk in her quarters, re-reading a novel from her youth when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." She said flatly.

The door creaked as it opened.

"The retrieval team is on final approach." Weiss told her.

Blake stood up and closed her book, not even looking at her former teammate.

"Get Penny and the machine prepped immediately. We may not have much time."

**A.N- Whelp, that's going to do it for this chapter. To be honest I'm a bit nervous about releasing this one because of all the deaths. Although I think it just goes to show how powerful these things are. All of those characters were probably the most powerful they had ever been and they got completely annihilated. I'm also pondering a change in rating from T to M, just to be safe. Anyways, thank you reading this update. I hope the whole thing didn't seem too rushed. I look forward to reading your reviews and applying any feedback I get to the next update which will be more character based as opposed to a massacre of an action scene, so until next time…**

**Wolf out! **


End file.
